On Thursday, a letter tweeted by the official handle of the Odisha Congress said Singh was “suspended for repeated media statements that have hurt the party’s image”.

The Congress has suspended its Sundergarh MLA, Jogesh Singh, after he praised Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and had said he will skip Rahul Gandhi’s rally.

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Earlier this week, Singh said he will be unable to attend Gandhi’s Odisha rally on January 25 because “he had committed dates to attend programmes in villages”. He also called Patnaik “an extraordinary politician who has ruled the state for 18 years”.

On Thursday, a letter tweeted by the official handle of the Odisha Congress said Singh was “suspended for repeated media statements that have hurt the party’s image”.

After the suspension order, Singh said, “What is the harm in praising Naveen Patnaik, who has been recognised as an ideal chief minister in the country?”

The development comes a day after the party’s state unit working president and Jharsuguda MLA Naba Das quit to join the BJD.